Category: Traveling

After traveling to multiple homes with a baby or toddler, I feel the need to share the things I love to see in a guest bedroom.

A Trash Can- It seems like I always have things to throw away (tissues, wrappers, etc), and it’s nice to have a trash can in the room that we are staying in.

A Tissue Box- whether there’s tears from a long road trip or just the standard runny nose, it’s nice to have a tissue box on hand in your room.

An Empty Chest of Drawers- On our last family trip, it was so nice to tuck our bags away and unpack all of our clothes so we felt more at home.

Blackout Curtains- Even if your child isn’t used to sleeping with blackout curtains like mine, it never hurts to have a darker room at bedtime. Even temporary blackout curtains can make a huge difference.

Easily Accessible Linens- You never know what kids may do to a bed. It’s always nice to know where linens can be found if there is an incident in the middle of the night.

A Pack-n-Play- Not having to bring one of these along is so nice! It’s also better than co-sleeping (unless you are used to that).

We move across the country next week! Papa M will be driving all of our belongings, and then Man-cub D and I will fly out to join him three days later. We were able to get a “practice run” in because we flew to Oregon for a family reunion last week. Here’s what I learned from that trip:

Car seats are bulky. Yes, you can check them at the curb or at the normal check in instead of at the gate, but I’d much rather not worry about it. So we will be borrowing one until we can fly out.

I will only have the diaper bag (as my small item) and a backpack as my carry on. I will also have an umbrella stroller to transport Man-cub D in. That’s it.

To make this happen, I have to pack light. Here’s what I’m eliminating:

My laptop. One of our planes actually had small touch screens for each seat, and I figure I can just use my phone and save myself a few extra pounds in luggage.

Clothes. I’m staying with my mom during the three day period when we move out to when we fly out, and I’m planning on borrowing some of my sister’s clothing during that time so I don’t have to pack as much.

Toiletries. Borrow at my mom’s house. All I’ll have are man-cub D’s things, like his liquid multi-vitamins.

Books. I only need to bring one for Man-cub D. (It’s a large look-and-find one that he loves).